A contractor with Goldman Sachs inadvertently emailed confidential client data to a stranger, potentially creating a privacy breach. However, that stranger had a Gmail account, and so, upon the bank's request, Google stepped in and blocked access to that message through its email service, according to a report by Reuters.

Goldman (NYSE:GS) also requested that Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) actually delete the message, but as of the report, the tech company had not taken that step. Reuters added that Goldman has asked for a court order to have the message deleted, as Google will not delete the message unless legally bound to do so.

The incident raises questions about Google's responsibilities to rectify others' mistakes. After all, Google likely wouldn't block any of the embarrassing emails people send every day to Gmail addresses, but the company does, apparently, believe this case clears a certain threshold for action. A Google spokesperson declined a Reuters request for comment, so it remains unknown what, precisely, about this case convinced the tech giant of the propriety to intervene.